The album's first single, "Desire," does just what those early singles did best -- re-imagine '80s/'90s indie rock for the current era. It has bashing grungey guitars, Katie Monks' voice is fiery and distinct, and it sounds fresh but also familiar (probably because it sounds quite a bit like the Pixies' "Gigantic" at times). Listen, and check out the artwork and tracklist, below.

The band also announced a tour with fellow Toronto distortion lovers METZ (no NYC stops though). Those dates are also listed below.

When it rains it pours. Last year, Austin Psych Fest was a duststorm. This year (renamed Levitation), literal dark clouds hung over, threatening thunderstorms all three days even though it only ended up raining on Friday (5/8), and before bands started playing. But it was enough to turn Carson Creek Ranch into a mudpit on that first day. Add lack of lighting on much of the grounds and it was slow and treacherous moving around between Levitation's three stages. People were a little cranky, a little dirty, but good vibes were mostly maintained thanks in no small part to the great lineup of bands.

Among Friday night's highlights were Tame Impala, Spiritualized and DIIV on the main stage; METZ, The Sword and Lightning Bolt in the Levitation Tent (which was covered but still muddy); and The Soft Moon, White Fence and Holy Wave on the Elevation Stage which had been moved up the hill from it's usual creekside location because of the weather. (The move was disappointing to some, as usually they project trippy visuals on the trees across the water, but they still positioned the stage near foliage to use as a screen.)

Pics from the 13th Floor Elevators' Sunday night set are HERE. Stay tuned for pics from the rest of the fest, but a few instagrams from Red 7's kickoff party and more from Levitation Fest Day 1 pics, below...

METZ's second album is out next week and the Toronto band have upped their assault on our eardrums on all fronts with better songs, better production and sharper focus. It somehow seems louder (and snottier), too, which basically ticks all the boxes of what you want from a record like this. If you're ready for this on a Monday morning (or whatever point in time you're reading this), the whole thing is streaming ahead of its release at NPR.

The band will kick off their 2015 tour with two release shows at Toronto's Lee's Palace, both of which are with Protomartyr. They'll then cross the border for Levitation in Austin, Shaky Knees in Atlanta and then their tour with FIDLAR begins. That tour hits NYC for two sold-out shows. METZ have added more dates since we last posted and all are listed below.

METZ have been gearing up for the release of their sophomore LP, II, for a while now, releasing the pancake-centric "non-video" for lead single "Acetate" back in February. The band is back with another track from the album (complete with a massive guitar solo), and it's no less caustic than the explosive lead single. Stream "Spit You Out" below.

The band already announced dates with Lightning Bolt and FIDLAR as well as a few shows in Europe, and now they've extended the tour to include even more North American stops. Check out all of the band's upcoming tour dates along with "Spit You Out" below...

Outside Lands, which happens August 7-9 in San Francisco with Elton John, Mumford & Sons, The Black Keys, Kendrick Lamar, Wilco, D'Angelo, St. VIncent and more, announced its daily lineups today. Check those out below.

The inside show began with recent Run for Cover signeesElvis Depressedly who played a set of scrappy indie rock with singer Matthew Lee Cothran's animated stage moves intact. Then Emmy the Great brought things down with a set she played mostly as a duo but with a few solo songs too. Next up was the alt-R&B of three-piece Basecamp, followed by the danceable, super fun pop of New Zealand's Yumi Zouma. Veteran Canadian band Frog Eyes came next with Carey Mercer & co's eccentric indie rock in excellent form (story about being accused of doing meth in the BrooklynVegan comments included), and then it was their neighbors from up north, Cancer Bats, whose blend of hardcore and stoner rock riffage was the heaviest set of the day. Oklahoma rockers Broncho followed, playing to one of the most packed in crowds of the day and totally sounding built to do so. Finally it was one more Canadian band to wrap up the day, METZ, who were as loud, fast and full of energy as ever.

Broncho / Speedy Ortiz

Outside the show began with the UK's Ultimate Painting, the band with members of Veronica Falls and Mazes whose Dead-like guitar jams and close harmonies were super tight and pretty perfect outdoors on a sunny afternoon. They were followed by Girlpool, who previewed some material from their upcoming debut LP and included some favorites from last year's EP that had a chunk of the crowd singing along. Then came the shouty noise rock of Ireland's Girl Band (who unlike Girlpool who played before them, don't have girls in the band), and then the smart/sarcastic indie rock of Chastity Belt ("this next song is about mansplaining"). After them it was Mitski who was more impressive than before at this show and had a lot of the crowd screaming in approval. She was followed by Speedy Ortiz, who seem to get tighter each time and whose new songs came off great live ("Raising the Skate" was especially a highlight of the set). And to end the day it was hometown heroes The Octopus Project with a highly enjoyable set of their experimental rock to a full backyard of people.

Thanks to our sponsors Dropkloud, Esurance (who let 30 people skip the line each day) and MailChimp for helping make the party possible. If you unlocked our party playlists on your phone with the DropKloud app, you can go listen to them now. If you're still in Austin, you can still unlock them when at Red 7 with the app installed on your phone. Thanks also to Sailor Jerry for helping keep our artists relaxed.

Another Planet Entertainment, Superfly and Starr Hill, in a partnership with the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, have announced [the] lineup for the eighth annual Outside Lands Festival. After four consecutive sold-out years, the world's only gourmet music festival that Rolling Stone hailed as "one of America's best," and the Huffington Post called "a well-rounded cultural event," will once again take place in San Francisco's historic Golden Gate Park August 7 - 9, 2015. While the Eager Beaver on sale had the fastest sell-out in the history of the festival, a limited number of 3-Day General Admission and VIP regular tickets go on sale this Thursday, March 26th at 10am PDT via SFOutsideLands.com. A significant portion of every ticket sold will directly benefit San Francisco's Recreation and Park Department. The festival has given more than $10 million to the department since its inception.

The full lineup for this year's fest is listed, and in Funny or Die video form, below...

The three FREE BrooklynVegan SXSW day parties at Red 7 in Austin begin TODAY (Thursday, 3/19). We're taking over both stages of the 6th & Red River venue from noon-6pm and doing it again Friday (3/20) and Saturday (3/21) too. You can RSVP for all three days. If you're in Austin, hope to see you there!

Like the other two days, we'll be taking over the 7th & Red River venue's two stages from noon-6pm. Again, it's totally free, and RSVP for all three days is open.

The Thursday inside show kicks off with recent Run for Cover signee Elvis Depressedly, followed by folk-turned-pop musician Emmy the Great. Then it's the alt-R&B of Basecamp, the shiny pop of Yumi Zouma, indie veterans Frog Eyes, Canadian riff rockers Cancer Bats, power poppers Broncho, and finally Sub Pop sludge punks METZ.

Outside, the day starts with the VU/Dead stylings of Ultimate Painting (members of Mazes and Veronica Falls), into the young, smart and quickly rising duo Girlpool. They're followed by intense Irish noisemakers Girl Band, then jangly Seattle post-punks Chastity Belt, arty/folky indie rocker Mitski, discordant indie rockers Speedy Ortiz, and wrapping up the day is Austin experimental rockers The Octopus Project.

This year we're proud to be partnering with DropKloud, a new app that is launching just in time for SXSW. Recently acquired by TuneCore, DropKloud uses GPS technology to allow people to unlock exclusive music content in specific geo-targeted locations. You'll be able to try it out at our parties at Red 7 where we'll have special content from the artists playing our shows. Once you unlock it, you can listen later. Stay tuned for more details, but meanwhile get that app on your phone via Google Play or iTunes.

Want to skip the lines? Visit the Esurance Glove Box in the Austin Convention Center, or the Esurance Lounge at 6th and Trinity, to pick up an #EsuranceAccess Pass. Then follow @Esurance on Twitter to find out when and where you can get preferred entry.

Thank you also to MailChimp who powers the daily BrooklynVegan newsletter you'll get if you RSVP for our shows.

METZ have announced details of their second album, METZ II, which will be out May 5 via Sub Pop. (Pre-order yours.) They've shared a song from it as well, "Acetate," which you can listen to while you watch the band's friend Travis Millard make graphic-designed pancakes for his dog Rodney. They say it's "not the video" but it's more of one than most songs get these days, and is worth watching. The song's a real ripper too, as you'd expect from METZ. Watch it below.

The band are touring this spring, and dates include two stops in NYC: Bowery Ballroom on May 26 and Music Hall of Williamsburg on May 27. Both dates, and much of the tour, are with FIDLAR making lower case letters obselete for much of April and May. Tickets for both NYC shows go on sale Friday (2/20) at noon with an AmEx presale beginning Wednesday at noon.

In other news, METZ's Alex Edkins has teamed with Holy Fuck's Brian Borcherdt and Constantines' Doug MacGregor for a new Canadian supergroup called LIDS. Their debut 7" is titled "Sarsfest" and will be out March 17 via Toronto label Telephone Explosion. You can stream that below.

All dates are listed, along with the LP art, tracklist and "Acetate" video, below...

Lightning Bolt's new album, Fantasy Empire, is out March 24 via Thrill Jockey and the band have just released the first track from it, "The Metal East," which is intense and punishing, as you'd expect from this pair. Stream it below.

This spring, Lightning Bolt will head out on tour that includes a visit to Austin Pysch Fest Levitation, and concludes with two NYC shows: May 15 at The Wick and May 16 at Le Poisson Rouge. Tickets to both NYC shows go on sale Friday (2/13) at 10 AM.

No openers have been announced for the NYC shows but METZ and Liturgy are playing other sections of the tour. All dates are listed below.

When METZ were in NYC for Death by Audio's second-to-last show, they mentioned a new album was on the way. Now we have a little more info on that. The album, which may be simply called METZ - II, will be out Spring 2015 via Sub Pop. The Toronto punks teased the new record via a video, a montage compiled by Scott Cudmore and Alex Edkins, that hurls a snippet of skull-crushing METZ noise right near the end. You can watch that below.

Meanwhile, METZ are on tour with Death from Above 1979 and play Winnipeg tonight (1/27). They'll be in London and Paris for a couple shows in March, too. Those dates are listed below.

We're officially in Music Festival Announcement Season, and the latest one is Atlanta's annualShaky Knees Festival, happening May 8-10. This year includes The Strokes, The Avett Brothers, Wilco, Pixies, Social Distortion, Ryan Adams, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Tame Impala, Brand New, Mastodon, Neutral Milk Hotel (supposedly one of your last chances to see them for a while), Interpol, Flogging Molly, TV on the Radio, Manchester Orchestra, James Blake, Death from Above 1979, Dr. Dog, Spiritualized, Panda Bear, American Football, Clutch, Black Lips, The Mountain Goats, Best Coast, Real Estate, Wavves, Built to Spill, The Both, Mac DeMarco, Minus the Bear, Old 97's, FIDLAR, METZ, THe Bronx, Speedy Ortiz, Palma Violets, VIet Cong, Strand of Oaks and more. Tickets are on sale now.

The annualAustin Psych Fest, which they've renamed "Austin Psych Fest presents Levitation" (more on that below), happens this year from May 8-10 at the Carson Creek Ranch. The initial lineup was just revealed and it's looking pretty crazy. There's The Flaming Lips, Tame Impala, The Jesus and Mary Chain (performing Psychocandy), Spiritualized, Primal Scream, The Black Angels, Thee Oh Sees, Mac DeMarco, Melody's Echo Chamber, Lightning Bolt, The Sword, Earth, A Place to Bury Strangers, Fuzz, The Soft Moon, Metz, White Fence, Fat White Family, Nothing and still plenty more. Weekend passes are on sale now and check out the full initial lineup below.

As for the name change of the fest to Levitation:

Over the years, countless other "psych fest" events have popped up around the globe - music communities all over the world are gathering together and celebrating music and art together. This is an amazing thing and we are proud to be a part of it.

In 2015 we are redefining what we're doing with a renewed focus on the music we love, and to mark that change the festival is taking on a new name: LEVITATION. The title comes from one of our favorite tracks from Austin legends The 13th Floor Elevators, who have provided us with endless inspiration. Their music and message transcended genre - they were true innovators.

The APF folks have been doing a sister festival in France called "Levitation" since 2013.

Bands felt like Death By Audio was a second home - indie phenoms Future Islands and wild Canadian rockers METZ both played their first ever New York shows at Death By Audio. It was the kind of place where a small fledgling band had a good chance of playing on the same bill as a much bigger, touring band. And one day, that fledgling band might just become a headliner.

You tended to get just as much as you were willing to put in: if you attended or played shows there regularly, there was a good chance you'd get to know the staff there, as well as other regulars. Those were the people who made up the bulk of the crowd last Saturday night - some of them who since moved to other cities even flew across the country to be there. It's also why there were a lot of tears, hugs, and positive energy going around in the final hours.

Impose gathered up tributes from a variety of artists, DbA employees and other people in the DIY scene, including manager/booker/soundguy Edan Wilber:

The value of what I have gotten from my experiences here are immeasurable, and leaps and bounds more valuable than any material wealth I could've gained doing something else. I have met people from all around the world just because they heard about this little room that some friend of their's said they just had to play in. It's a shame to lose something like that because it can't be manufactured. We have always run on the best of intentions and it propelled us so far for so long, none of us could've imagined it would've lasted as long as it did and stayed true to its beliefs from day one. I'm happy to go out on such a high note, the past few weeks have been mind-blowingly incredible and I have gotten to see many old friends make their pilgrimage here one last time and I look forward to a few more rad weeks before we are forced out of the only place in NYC thats ever felt like home to me.

For those who'll be in Washington, DC next weekend, many of the in-house created, super-hard arcade games that you may have played in DbA's back room will be on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum's courtyard on December 6 as part of an "indie arcade" curated by MAGFest and American University's Game Lab.

We've got all of Death by Audio's last month's shows listed, along with video from many of them, below...

It is cliche and hyperbole to say a band destroyed a place, but it's a very apt word for what Toronto's METZ did to Death by Audio last night as the venue's "Top Secret!" headliners for the penultimate show at the DIY venue. At one point, vocalist/guitarist Alex Edkins pulled down one of the ratty tiles from the drop ceiling and flung it at the crowd. "Think about where you are right now. Think about where you'll be next week," Edkins told the crowd. "Make it count." The crowd and the band (who played their first NYC show at DbA) were amped and sweaty and a lot of shoes were in the air, mostly still attached to feet. They also dropped a killer cover of The Damned's "Neat Neat Neat." A crazy, amazing set -- video from it is below.

Another band that drove a long way just for DbA's next-to-last show were Detroit's Protomartyr, who's first NYC show was also at DbA (opening at Parquet Courts' Light Up Gold release party.) Sardonic as always, frontman Joe Casey greeted the crowd with "This place is great. I predict a long future." Showbooker, soundman and all-around sweet guy Edan Wilber (who was wearing a homemade "NO HINTS LET'S PARTY" shirt) asked then band to play some deep cuts from early 7"s (like "Baseball Bat" from their Colpi Proibiti EP), which made for a punkier, harder-hitting (if less familiar) set. Protomartyr also played a new one last night for the first time. A short clip of that, and full video of a couple other songs, below.

Nots @ DbA 11/21/2014

Memphis quartet Nots, who seemed likely to play, were a little late for their set -- their van broke down outside of Cleveland. They managed to fix it, drove straight to the show, climbed through the stage window and immediately started their set, which was their NYC live debut. (Nots, however, feature members of Coasting and Ex Cult who have played DbA tons of times.) The band's snarling, aggressive sound is definitely punk but they're not afraid of synthesizers either. (They would fit in well with the Melbourne, Australia bands that have cropped up around Total Control's Mikey Young.) They were awesome. There's video of most of their short set below and you can catch Nots again in Brooklyn at Palisades on Sunday (11/23).

Predictions that Shellshag would open this, the second-to last-night, were incorrect (nice diversion, Screaming Females), and in fact was opened by Brooklyn's Sleepies which count at least one DbA employee as a member. Video from their set last night is below too. They also fit in well with the night's postpunk/sludgepunk lineup. This was a just about perfect Death by Audio show, with most of the folks inside seeming like regulars who were not disappointed to learn it was METZ and Protomartyr playing, not, say, DOA and Interpol or whatever. While everyone knew there was just one night after this, just about everyone seemed to be very very happy they were there.

late-night Fuckton set in 'Death by Art' space

After METZ finished sometime around 1 AM, more secrets unveiled themselves in the form of late night noise/drone sets in "the ranch" / Death by Art part of DbA, including Greg Fox (Liturgy/Guardian Alien), Dubknowdub, and Fuckton which features both DbA's Matt Conboy and Edan Wilber, along with Travis from Grooms and Jay from French Miami/Grooms/Immaculates/Roya. Smoke machines and strobes were cranked to 11 and the night ended around 3:30 AM, properly weird.

Tonight (11/22) is the last night of Death by Audio. As to who's playing tonight, Edan and Matt are offering no clues today on DbA's website, only saying, "Thanks for everything! Seriously! See You Tonight!" For guesses... anyone who's expecting some giant band tonight doesn't understand Death by Audio very well. Sure, Future Islands, Thee Oh Sees, Dan Deacon, Les Savy Fav, and Ty Segall can all play places much, much bigger but their roots are at places like DbA who supported them from the start. Will there be cool, crazy surprises? Undoubtably. But they'll be things that make sense within what they've always done and who they've supported over the years. Which is what made DbA special.

Video (by Unartig) and more pics/instagrams from Death by Audio's penultimate night, below...

Austin's Fun Fun Fun Fest wrapped up this past weekend with a variety of killer music across punk, metal, hip hop, indie, electronic and plenty of the in-between, plus comedy, wrestling, BMX competitions and more. The lineup spanned legends like Judas Priest, Gorilla Biscuits and Nas through great newer artists like Angel Olsen, Deafheaven and Courtney Barnett. We've already written plenty about it -- check out our reviews of day 1, day 2 and day 3 -- as well as posted pictures of Judas Priest, Gorilla Biscuits and Mineral.

Now we've got pics of the whole three days on BV Austin. Check out day 1 HERE, day 2 HERE and day 3 HERE.

Fun Fun Fun Fest continued in Austin's Auditorium Shores on Saturday (11/8) with another amazing and eclectic lineup (and hopefully better lines). I started my day at the Black Stage for Fat White Family. The crazed psych band was a little calmer than they tend to be in a small venue, but even for a festival set so early on in the day, the Fat Whites brought it.

The energy on the Black Stage quickly rose significantly as Glassjaw followed, quenching the same early 2000s post-hardcore thirst that The Blood Brothers did a day earlier (not to mention they had a shared love for tight tees and theatrical stage moves). They leaned heavy on the early material and really put on a classic Glassjaw set, looking and sounding like no time had passed since 2002. The crowd followed suit, with a pit open and endless stage divers the whole time.

I hung around the Black Stage for a bit of METZ's wild-as-always set, and then headed to the Orange Stage where Courtney Barnett was playing. I hadn't seen Courtney in about a year since she played CMJ 2013, and not that I doubted her but after Saturday's set I'm sure of it that her rise to bigger stages is well deserved. One person said of her recent Webster Hall show, "Courtney Barnett's ramshackle gigs are now serious fucking rock shows" and that's exactly how I felt seeing her at FFF.

The Orange Stage continued to be the place to be as The Pains of Being Pure at Heart took the stage followed by their tourmatesThe New Pornographers. Pains, who have been on the road with their killer new lineup this year, brought it once again with a lot of the new album, a good mix of the first two, and another of the high energy shows this new lineup is becoming known for. Then the New Pornographers, Dan Bejar and Neko Case included, followed with another excellent set that kicked off with the title track from this year's Brill Bruisers and went on to include plenty more from that album. They apparently had some technical difficulties that they didn't mention until after they were fixed, but you wouldn't have known it. New Pornographers sounded flawless.

Over at the Black Stage, NYHC legends Sick of It All were playing a set pulling from Blood, Sweat and No Tears and Scratch the Surface. SOIA definitely partied like it was 1989, started a wall of death ("a game we used to play before all the metal bands and ska bands took the idea"), and though they talked on stage about not getting too sucked into nostalgia (they mentioned they have a new album out but couldn't play anything off of it because of "contractual obligations"), they clearly had a lot of fun with those old songs.

Another nostalgia set then went down on the Blue Stage, where Nas played all of the unfuckwithable Illmatic. His DJ came out, played "The Genesis" over the PA, and then once he dropped that beat to "NY State of Mind," Nas finally took the stage and was on fire the whole time. Not to throw shade at his other albums, but as good as a Nas set usually is, previous times I've seen him don't compare at all to seeing Illmatic in full. It's no secret that it's a timeless album, but he really made it feel like it was on Saturday. Unlike Sick of It All's set, this didn't feel like nostalgia. There's a handful of good rappers on FFF's lineup, but Nas playing his 1994 album still sounded ahead of all of them.

Wrapping up the day on the Black Stage was the face-painted metal legend King Diamond. Like the other shows on his current US tour, he and his band had a haunted house-like stage set up with staircases, a fence in front of them, light-up crosses, a guest dressed up as a spooky old man, and more props. The operatic singer ran through a set of his songs and a few by Mercyful Fate, all while being a character in the stage show himself.

I split the end of my night catching half of King Diamond's set, and then catching half of Modest Mouse over at the Orange Stage. Though it's still been years since Modest Mouse put out anything new (they did just put out a couple reissues though), Modest Mouse have been having an incredible year on tour. They packed the end of their set with favorites -- "Float On," "A Different City," "Out Of Gas," "Tiny Cities Made of Ashes" -- and played them with this genuine energy that was a great reminder that they were once one of the most consistently great indie rock bands around. It might seem boring or obvious to say these things about Modest Mouse in 2014, but their recent live shows deserve it.

Day 1 recap HERE. We'll have a recap of the rest off FFF Fest 2014 (as well as full picture sets from all three days) soon. Meanwhile, you can check out lots more pics on the @BVAustin Instagram.

FUN FUN FUN FEST (FFF Fest) is excited to announce today the lineup for FFF Nites, the after shows free to festival wristband holders, during this year's festival November 7--9, 2014, at Auditorium Shores. The Nites performances--including over one hundred FFF performing artists and a roster of artists playing exclusively during Nites--are only available to FFF Fest wristband holders; no tickets will be sold at the door.

If you're on the fence, this might be the final push. More than seventy (74 so far if I counted correctly) of the one-hundred-plus above mentioned artists are exclusive to FFF Nites, including Meat Puppets, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, The Jazz June, Power Trip, Tombs, Single Mothers, Into It Over It, The Hotelier, Le1f, The Pizza Underground, MSTRKFT and many more. Access to the night shows is FREE with your FFF wristband.

Cloud Nothings, who played NYC in April, are currently touring the west coast with METZ and The Wytches, making for some triple attacks of rawk. That tour hit Portland's Hawthorne Theatre last week (7/2) and pictures of that sweaty mess are in this post.

Toronto noise-rippers METZ are busy working on their second album for Sub Pop, but have just released a new song to tide us over. Its a cover of "I'm a Bug" by The Urinals, and they've coated this slice of late 70s SoCal punk in the layer of brutal noise one would expect from them. It's pretty awesome, so give this thing a listen (via Stereogum) in this post, where you can also check out their upcoming West Coast dates with Cloud Nothings and The Wytches as well as some new UK dates and a stop at Fun Fun Fun Fest.

While those dates don't hit the East Coast, The Wytches will be in NYC in July. All METZ tour dates are listed, along with the Urinals cover, below...